Chicago Bulls (9-16, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (14-10, sixth in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Heat -5.5; over/under is 217
BOTTOM LINE: Nikola Vucevic and the Chicago Bulls visit Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in Eastern Conference play.
The Heat are 11-9 in conference games. Miami is 6-6 against opponents with a winning record.
The Bulls have gone 6-10 against Eastern Conference opponents. Chicago is 3-7 in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Heat average 112.7 points per game, 0.7 fewer points than the 113.4 the Bulls allow. The Bulls' 44.6% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.9 percentage points lower than the Heat have allowed to their opponents (48.5%).
The teams play for the third time this season. The Heat won the last meeting 118-100 on Nov. 21. Bam Adebayo scored 23 points to help lead the Heat to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jaime Jaquez is averaging 12.6 points for the Heat. Butler is averaging 17.5 points over the last 10 games for Miami.
Vucevic is averaging 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Bulls. Coby White is averaging 23.6 points over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 5-5, averaging 116.1 points, 40.8 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.7 points per game.
Bulls: 4-6, averaging 112.7 points, 44.9 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.9 points.
INJURIES: Heat: RJ Hampton: out (knee), Haywood Highsmith: out (back), Josh Richardson: out (illness), Dru Smith: out for season (knee), Bam Adebayo: out (hip), Tyler Herro: out (ankle).
Bulls: Zach LaVine: out (foot), Lonzo Ball: out for season (knee), Alex Caruso: day to day (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
